Proud Mama Alert!

My son, Chase, a freshman, at his first high school game, this year.  

I am very proud of him because as a freshman, he placed second chair, top band (out of three bands).

LIFE: Spilled-Out

Recently, I had reason for some introspective pondering of my life.

My life is an explosion; loud and noisy, spilling-out, messy, overflowing. Not for me are the neat and tidy compartmentalized segments of life, carefully not touching, easily moved out of the way until their proper time to be displayed.

My secular job spills over into my family time, my church work overflows into my job, my family crosses lines with my job and church until it's all blended and interwoven into one vivid, exciting, abundant life.

What does your life look like?

My Perfect Garden

I finally decided to go for it ~ a garden.

A good friend had given me possible placement and dimensions for my garden, along with a layout, explaining about how much work would be needed to tend to each size and type.

Hours spent poring over Home & Garden magazines, dreaming and planning the perfect garden. Time spent at Lowe's, agonizing over seed packets, choosing the right fertilizer, the right plants.

And now... the fruit of my labors:

BASIL, OREGANO, PARSLEY

I must admit that I'm concerned about my parsley.
It just doesn't seem to be as hardy as the others.




Yep. Just the right-size garden for me!

Here's to Health!

Recently, due to uncomfortable health issues, I decided to re-think my eating habits. The first staple I gave up was the acid and caffeine combination of Coca-Cola Classic


...followed by tea

...and hot chocolate.

Now, for those who don't know, I kept Coke in business. I have reps who are calling me, begging me to purchase coke again, or if not coke, then to at least get addicted to another Coke product!



If you are in caffeine withdrawal, EAT FRUIT in the mornings. I have used this technique in past efforts and it is amazing how much that cuts down on the no-caffeine headaches.


In addition to the removal of these beverages from my lips, I am adhering to a modified 'Fit for Life' philosophy of eating.

Basically, this means anything that is not a fresh or frozen fruit or vegetable is a 'complex' food. You only have ONE complex food with any meal. It's that simple.

Simple? For a woman raised in Texas, whose favorite type of food is southern, that's a bit hard to swallow! That means no gravies, no to most sauces, no casseroles, no batters, no good ol' southern breakfasts, no Italian, no Mexican, no beans and cornbread.... well that's not an issue, because I never ate that anyway... but you get the picture.

Oh, yeah. One more thing that's not in the Fit for Life philosphy: Dairy products.

Let's take a look at the foods that would be classified as 'dairy':
Milk, BUTTER, sour cream, yogurt, cheeses.... ALL cheeses.

No dairy.


Fortunately, I used the Fit for Life plan, years ago, and I know how phenomenal I feel when I eat that way...how well I rest.... how much weight I can lose.

In all my years of being overweight, I never had a real desire or will power to diet. I refused to try weight-loss pills or do the fad diets. I always said that if I ever lost weight, I'd do it the 'right' way, by eating healthily. Actually, it's almost amusing how easy it has become to surrender my desired way of eating, now that ingesting those foods causes me extreme physical discomfort, even pain.

So, planning on a healthier, happier, pain-free me... Here's to health!

God's Artistry

(click on image to enlarge for better view)

This is a picture taken by a friend who is vacationing in Hawaii.
It's so incredible, it's almost unbelievable.

Just remember, the God who made this.... cares for you.

My Wedding Designs

Vintage-style veil and fascinator I made

I also made the Bridal bouquet

Beautiful bride - Jessie Hernandez,
friend of my daughter

I like the back view

I made the bridesmaids bouquets

My daughter

My daughter trying to get her husband to kiss her.
From this photo, I'm very fearful of ever getting a grandchild. : (

My son-in-law and daughter
(Thingamabob and Thing 1)

I also made the throw away bouquet.

I enjoyed getting to work with Jessie to create the vintage veil and fascinator and bridal bouquet that she wanted, as well as the bridesmaids and groomsmen bouquets and boutonnieres, mothers/grandmothers corsages and toss bouquet.

It was fun to get to be part of her very special day.

The Savvy-Homemaker Apron

I've developed a new product I'm thinking about marketing.

I wanted to share it with my blogger readers first, to see what they think.

The Savvy -Homemaker Apron
Coming in 2010

Please notice the detail at the waist and the ease of attachment; no more struggling to tie a bow behind your back. Two easy-to-attach clips make fastening a cinch (pardon the pun).

The ruffle along both edges is flirty and sure to please the man in your life, proclaiming your femininity; just imagine warmly greeting your man, with this apron on, when he comes home from a hard day's work, inviting visions of home, hearth and romance.

And best of all, it is extremely versatile and totally interchangeable.

So readers, now its your turn. What price would YOU pay for this charmingly versatile apron?

New Year's Menu

Everyone is having pork, black-eyed peas and cabbage.

I thought only black-eyed peas were a tradition on New Years.

??

White Christmas

What a wonderful, beautiful Christmas we had! On Christmas Eve, it began to snow. Although it stopped snowing that evening, the temperature was so cold that we still had snow on Christmas day... and then I left it to drive an hour and a half south where there was no snow!!

The three of us opened presents on Christmas morning, and tried to give the sun a little time to do its magic on the roads of snow and ice. We left a couple of hours later than planned, but we never had to drive on a slick road.

We had a wonderful day at my daughter's and son-in-law's home in Forney. She had her home decorated beautifully, but did I take a camera? Nooooo. Nevertheless, good food, laughter, love... perfect.

Another blessing this year was that several families from our church had the opportunity to become very personally involved in the lives of a family in need. It was so special to see the way that everyone rallied to help get this family into a home and to provide as much of the necessities for living, as we could gather from our own homes. It wasn't a lot of money exchanging hands; it was people giving of their time, their pantry, their supplies. And the true specialness of this is that it isn't just a Christmas charity... our wonderful church family will continue to lift up and encourage this family until they can get on their feet again.

Although it was personally a leaner year than we've experienced in a long time, once again, we have had a very blessed and merry Christmas.

Thank you, Jesus!

Hope your family has been as blessed as ours ~

Pumpkin Patch Gospel Carvings

I finally posted our pumpkin carvings on my church blog. Take a look at Pumpkin Patch Gospel Pumpkins.

Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins!

At my house, we've been getting ready for Halloween. That seems so strange to say, because we have never participated in Halloween. Occasionally, our church would provide an alternative event near or on the 31st... sometimes not.

Our police department sponsors a community event for the kids of the area, on the municipal lawn. Businesses and groups come together to provide booths for a safe place for kids to get their candy 'fixes' for the year. This year, we decided to use that event ~ because there will be around 3000 kids come through ~ to sponsor a booth.

I suppose, technically, we still aren't participating in Halloween. We are using the set up this world has provided, to take the opportunity to get into our community and spread a little of His Light into our world, and bring some glory to God.

Our booth will be The Pumpkin Patch Gospel and will feature carved pumpkins depicting Christian scenes and symbols. Along with about 200 pounds of candy, we will be passing out handouts of The Pumpkin Patch Gospel. We are praying that our handouts and the messages carved into the pumpkins will generate some comments and questions and give us the opportunity to share the Light of the World with someone tonight.

Dear Nancy Pelosi

I just read a phenomenal blog that a young, single mother of two wrote to Nancy Pelosi. Please visit Heather , a member and blogger on the As a Mom.... a sisterhood of Mommy Patriots. This is a must-read!

Constitution Kid

The 8th graders at Thing 2's school, participated in Constitution Day. If they dressed up in either colonial costume, or put together a red, white and blue costume, they could get extra freebies that day.

At pretty much the last minute, my boy decided he wanted to dress up. It was last minute, but hey, he's in 8th grade, he wants to participate.... I'm not going to stop him!! So we began the hunt for an Uncle Sam top hat and a few other articles he wanted.

It was funny (pathetic?) because apparently, so few participated with 'costumes', he actually won!!

We took a large flag sticker and cut out pieces of the star
area and the red stripes to create the tie

He designed his canvas loafers to
look like a flag, when his feet were together

For the love of a son, did I this...
Cutting out the itty bitty stars off the sticker
to put onto his loafers

We could not find anything, anywhere as far as costuming goes.
That is a pinata on his head.
He is just crazy enough to wear it with panache.

I'm glad our school is still teaching that the Constitution has value and is worth remembering.

Forced Vaccinations and Quarantines?

There's been a lot of discussion and debate happening regarding whether or not the government should be allowed to enforce vaccinations and/or quarantines on persons with the H1N1 flu... and other communicable diseases.

Massachusetts Senate just passed a bill,and is waiting on the House to approve it, that would allow the MA government incredible amounts of discretion and authority over their citizens. Anarticle from Free Republic discusses this bill and lists the Constitutional amendments that it violates. I encourage you to read it to see the types of laws our elected representatives are trying to put into place.

The Examiner News has answered the question as to whether it is legal for the U.S. Government to have this authority, and the answer is YES. Their article, which includes excerpts from the National Vaccination Information Center (America's vaccination watchdog) and information from the CDC, is very interesting and informative.

The power has been there for some time, but, in light of the H1N1 flu and our current president, never has the possibility of this type of government control been so imminent. The old adage, Give him an inch and he'll take a mile is seen regularly in the character and decisions of this president.

His predilection for searching the archives for any and every legal power ever bestowed upon the presidency (and then some), and then his loose interpretation and abuse of those powers and our Constitution, makes me wonder if soon, the citizens of the free republic of the United Sates might be living and experiencing life, as we've previously only read about in the pages of political science fiction thrillers.

Ouch!!! Now THAT'S a SLAM!

My husband was reading through an internet Op-Ed piece, and shared a humorous, incredibly pithy and intellectually crafted review regarding another magazine's staff writer.

"Nevermind that his writing is more than uninformative, it is informationally subtractive. Read him and you'll know less than you know now... Read him carefully, and you'll know nothing."

OUCH!!

A good writer never needs to resort to name-calling or foul language, to make his point. Intelligent usage of the English language, emphasized by creative vocabulary selection is all that is needed.

The Girl In My Mirror

The girl in my mirror... surely that can't be me?! She must be someone else!

For an amusing prayer written about the effects of aging, please read Edie's Dear God post, and the equally entertaining - yet heartfelt - comments from women who understand.

Is Obama Staging an Education Take-Over Now?

On September 8, 2009, at 12:00 pm (EST), President Obama is once again, creating an historical

'Kodak' moment for us. He will broadcast a live national address to our children, via the internet, while they are in their classrooms.

Do you know what the President will say to your children? Do you know what the teachers are supposed to ask the children before, during and after the presentation, to help President Obama achieve his goal of this address?

If we find out, after the fact, that the President only talked to the kids about doing their best at attending school, studying, test taking... things we parents do every day... that it was not politically driven at all, will we then deem it a harmless program?

I think not.

Since everything this president has touched has collapsed, unravelled or been vigorously and systematically torn apart and ridiculed (by him), it makes me wonder if this seemingly innocent endeavor is truly part of a much more insidious plan.

• Gradually introducing his use of the internet as a national media choice (aren't we hearing that he is trying to get together a plan to allow him to take over the internet... "for emergency measures" ?).

• Becoming a familiar, friendly, helpful face and voice to impressionable youth (getting them used to him and his ideas, to help in their future indoctrination into the Civilian Security Force?).

• Slowly, carefully insinuating himself into the educational system that hosts our children for 7+ hours each day (and hasn't every 'system' that he has touched ended up destroyed when he walked away from it?).

No. If this president has his hand stirring in the pot, I find it suspicious, at best; downright sinister, in its probable actuality.

Too much ado over a Scoreboard?

Recently, it's been in the news about the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium (and I capitalize the word 'stadium' in the Victorian tradition... because it is such an important entity), and its Scoreboard.

It appears the holy grail committee has made a decision on future instances of a ball being kicked into the board, and I got to hear all about it, on the radio, while traveling in the car.

The sportscaster was on fire. I mean, he was so passionate ~ spittin' and sputterin'~ that I had to laugh; if he just changed his vocabulary to Biblical terminology, he could've been a good ole fashioned Pentecostal preacher.

But since I simply could not care any less about something, than I do about the scoreboard fiasco, I finally asked my husband to turn it off or change the station. What a waste of passion and energy!

I remarked to my husband that if it had been a preacher, being passionate about heaven and hell issues, or even someone talking about the government and all the ways it looks like it's being totally taken out of hands, totally disregarding the Constitution of the United States, I could understand it. But a scoreboard???

Come on people!! LOL!

Mrs. ABC

Mrs. Clemens' 7th grade class

Texas Battleship and San Jacinto Monument Museum

I thought these old sewing tools looked interesting

Directions and example pieces for an old fashioned hexagonal quilt.

(double click on picture to enlarge for reading)

On the Battleship

(Double click on picture to enlarge, to read writing)

The bakery

Coca Cola - the real thing
A coca cola dispenser in the galley....
this is the real reason this battleship was so successful !!